Friday, March 25, 2011

Where to Begin...

Where to begin friends -To say that it's been a crazy month would be an understatement.

Earlier this month Sean and I flew to Breckenridge, CO with his family for a quick ski trip. We had been looking forward to this for a long time! Needless to say I did not participate in the skiing but I did enjoy some time reading, watching movies and I spent a day at the spa. We had a great time with our family, ate at some really great restaurants and I got to have lunch with Blake and Amy Area one day which was so much fun! Sean had a great time skiing, he's pretty good from what I hear and loved just getting to relax.While we were there I had some discomfort or cramping in my right leg (which is the broken ankle leg). The pain was in the back of my calf and I didn't think much about it because it wasn't where my leg was broken and just thought it was a muscle cramp from being in the cast. The day we flew home the pain was a lot worse, I've never wanted to get off a plane so bad in my life. I honestly just thought my leg was tired from being down all day (usually I try to elevate it as much as possible) but with a 2 hour flight and a 2 hour car ride from Breckenridge to Denver my leg was not happy.We got home Wednesday night and I woke up in the middle of the night with the same intense pain, still thought it was muscle cramps and went to work the next day. Same thing happened on Thursday night and finally on Friday morning after I realized my toes were starting to turn pink when I stood up we called our Orthopedic doctor and his nurse told us to go to the ER because it might be a blood clot. Not really the news you want to hear but we handled it pretty well and got ourselves over to the local ER. We spent about 5 hours in the ER, they had to cut off my cast and do an ultrasound of my entire right leg to check for blood clots. They didn't find any blood clots on the ultrasound and we were very relieved - nobody was really able to explain the leg pain expect for muscle cramps. With my cast cut off I was put in a temporary splint for the rest of the weekend until Monday when we would go to see our Orthopedic doc and he would have to put a new cast on.So Monday rolled around and we went to the Orthopedic doc for a new cast (and at this point I was about 1 week away from getting my cast completely removed and being put in a walking boot. A few people at the ER even mentioned that I would probably get put in my walking boot early since I was only a week out so I was really excited about that possibility.) When the doctor came in to review the X-rays with us he told us that they found a second broken bone in my ankle that they did not originally know about. (Sean later told me he was very proud of me for not crying in that moment) I had not only broken the outer bone but also the inner bone (Fibula and Tibia) and as a result I would have to be in a cast for 3 more weeks. Again, not the news we wanted to hear but we handled it pretty well, I made Sean take me to Chick-fil-A afterward for breakfast to ease the pain and disappointment. So I had a new cast put on and was back to work.For the rest of the week my leg was pretty sore because I was in a new cast which was super tight and made my toes swell up but I no longer had the crazy leg pain so I thought we were done with all the crazy medical drama. Turns out I was wrong.I started noticing that at night I was having this weird chest discomfort, it's wasn't necessarily sharp pain but it was just uncomfortable and it woke me up every night that week. I felt like I was going crazy because typically I am a very healthy person and never have anything wrong and it didn't make any sense for me to be having chest pain. I thought that maybe it was in my head and I was making it up but finally after the fourth night of it I made an appointment with a doctor to have it checked out. At the appointment all my levels and stats were normal, the doctor thought it was probably heart burn from all the Ibuprofen that I was taking for my leg. She took some blood just to rule out any possible issues and I felt pretty good when we left. When my results came back the next day they were higher than normal (I can't even tell you what test it was or what my results were but I just know that they weren't normal). We went to the doctor the next day which was a Saturday and thankfully our same doctor was working. She assured me that even though my levels weren't normal it could be a number of things and it didn't necessarily mean it was something serious but she did order a CAT scan just to rule out the possibility of a blood clot (I think she really just did it because I looked so frantic and scared). So off to the same hospital Sean and I went and I had the CAT scan. At this point I'm so frustrated with myself and start thinking I've made up all the symptoms and that I'm now wasting more money and our Saturday in the hospital. Sean was so great and supportive the whole time and was so patient with me. When the test results were ready they put us in a room and our same doctor called to tell us that they in fact did find blood clots in both my lungs and that I would be taken down to the ER and pumped with blood thinners. I of course, being an emotional wreck, started crying and it really wasn't from fear but just relief that I wasn't going crazy. They think that the blood clot started in my leg (the crazy pain I had in the back of my leg) and that by the time they did the ultrasound it had moved up to my lungs). So after the call they wheeled me down to the ER, took an insane amount of blood so they can test to see if I'm predisposed to blood clots or if was just a result of the flying and started me on blood thinners. We ended up staying the night at the hospital just so they could monitor my levels.We got home Sunday from the hospital and slept the entire afternoon - we were beyond exhausted. I had to share a room with an elderly Italian woman at the hospital named Ida and she snored like a freight train and continually set off her heart monitor during the night & since Ida was a female Sean wasn't allowed to sleep in the room with me - he had to sleep on a couch in the lobby. Needless to say we didn't get much sleep that night.I worked from home on Monday since I was still pretty tired from the weekend and then went in to the office on Tuesday and Wednesday. Since I'm now on blood thinners I have to get my blood levels checked everyday until they reach the therapeutic level so we have been to doctor's office everyday this week, I now know all the names of the nurses who work in the diagnostic lab and my arms look like I have an illegal recreational habit.On Thursday we had an actual appointment with the doctor and she reviewed all of my blood work and was happy with how my levels were progressing. It was a really good appointment, we got to ask her lots of questions since this blood clot thing is completely foreign to us - we really just wanted to understand what we need to do in order for me to heal quickly. At the appointment I told her that I felt like I was starting to get a cold and asked if she would just check it out. Sure enough, turned out that I have an upper respiratory infection and double ear infection. Again, not the news we wanted but I am now on some serious antibiotics and already feel a lot better.

So this is where we have been, it's been beyond a wild month but I am so thankful for my wonderful husband who has continued to serve and take care of me through this stuff. It's been pretty overwhelming and scary at times but during those moments all we can do is pray and turn things over to God because there is no way we can handle this stuff on our own. We are also so thankful for our family and friends who have continued to pray for us and check in on us. My sweet Caroline even sent me flowers when I got home from the hospital! Sean's parents sent us extra gift cards for food & my parents sent us some money so we could hire a cleaning service for our house (I literally can't wait to scrub this house when I'm back on 2 legs). We are especially thankful for God's grace and guidance through all of this, I have to be honest and say I don't understand all of it but I continue to trust that He is doing a great work in us and hold on to Him.

Please continue to pray for us, for total healing and peace. That there would be no other health set-backs and we would just improve from here. And that I would get my cast off as expected on April 4th. Love you all and thank you for the prayers!

4 comments:

What a roller coaster! I am so proud of you for staying strong through all the chaos. I am so glad you have Sean to walk with you! Praying constantly for a full, quick recovery. Get some rest and enjoy the cleaning lady!

I'm so so sorry you're having such a tough time recovering! Talk about one thing after another :( I know that if God is watching out for anyone though, it's you two. Know that the neighborhood is praying in full force for you! We love you and miss you. Get well soon!!

It's good to hear a complete report on what's been going on. How crazy for all that to happen! In my experience, things like this have two purposes, they build our faith in God and later serve as a testimony and encouragement for others who are going through what we have been through. I know you will allow God to work in you during this time and we will continue to pray for strength for you and Sean. Love you guys!

About Us

Sean and I were married on March 21, 2009. We are about to make a big move to Chicago. Sean will be starting the masters program at Wheaton College and I will be joining the corporate world in the Windy City. We are excited to see what the Lord has planned for us and know we are about to learn a lot about Him and our relationship. We also think that we will be Cubs fans too!